This documentary was eye opening, to say the least. We all, through our frequent use of social media and the internet, are always being tracked, analyzed, and manipulated. I really liked the emphasis on appeal to authority, with top executives from companies like Google and Facebook sharing how this is in fact true. The most notable quote I took away (which I continue to share amongst my family and friends) is “If you’re not paying for the product, then you are the product.” This makes sense since all our data is what is fueling these companies ability to keep us hooked – but it still shocked me when I first heard it. In a time where sharing our lives and shopping online is extremely routine, it gives an easy pathway for these big tech firms and advertisers to swoop in and use us. While people may realize this and be disturbed by it, I have yet to see someone actually change their habits in any meaningful way. I think the primary reason for this is because people have accepted this is the sacrifice that needs to be made – being okay with losing any ounce of privacy – to continue to live the lives they have become accustomed to. It makes me wonder in what other ways in our lives we are being duped.

After watching the social dilemma I realised that nowadays bullying, propaganda and misinformation is much more common due to the influence of social media. Never did I once think that the message I put on facebook can impact the rest of my life. However, this film completely changed me as it shows we are truly unsafe in this widely connected world. All our secrets can easily be revealed in an instant which is why our digital footprint is so important to look after.

The opening of this movie catches my attention. I worked at Facebook for … years, I was the president of Pinterest. I am a executive director of Twitter. When I heard from these big companies name, my initial thought that they must be satisfied with their jobs. But all of them said that they quit. As a computer science major, I have learned how social media has such negative impact on our communities that we fall trapped on. Especially during the times of pandemic, people in need of social media to stay connected. I hope that in the future I would contribute positively to the social media platform.

The Netflix film The Social Dilemma was an interesting mixture of documentary and fiction. It allowed me to engage in self-reflection about my own social media use and how much those practices control my daily life. This captivating piece explores our growing dependence on social media and how the usage of these platforms has expanded beyond their original goal. I have always analyzed the effects and dangers of social media from a personal perspective, in terms of how much damage it can cause to people as well as their mental and physical health. However, this film allowed me to portray these issues from a broader point of view, focusing especially on the companies, the creators, and masterminds behind such platforms. With time, big companies have continued to throw ethics out the window to expand their profits. Platforms like Instagram or Facebook have become much more than a form of communication and, as it was revealed in the film, have become monitors of our daily lives. It was very interesting and somehow ironic to see the tech creators denouncing their own creations and becoming self-aware of the damage behind this growing industry.

Coincidentally, the days before I watched “The Social Dilemma,” I had actually deleted my most heavily used social media app, Instagram. In order to prevent myself from falling into the hole of procrastination, I decided to delete the app to focus on my upcoming prelim that Friday. Out of instinct, my finger swiped my phone screen and tapped on the spot where the app was previously located every time I picked up my phone during study breaks. It was a weird feeling: knowing the app wasn’t there, but still consistently repeating the action as if it’ll magically appear again. Rather than opening the Instagram app every time, I was faced with the weather app instead. Again, out of instinct, I scrolled through, as if the weekly weather forecast would suddenly transform into Instagram posts. So, it would be an understatement to say I was excited to be able to download the app again that Friday afternoon. Since I don’t use other popular social media apps like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and whatever else is out there, I’ve never seen myself as someone obsessed or very attached to my phone. Being as I only really indulge in Instagram and YouTube, I thought I was safe from the toxic effects of social media. After watching the documentary, I realize now how wrong I was. The influence of these platforms isn’t that simple. The fact that I’ve subconsciously developed the habit of simply tapping on the app whenever I use my phone, or immediately checking my notifications when my phone buzzes shows how reliant I actually am. The scariest thing about the documentary was the fact that these platform companies designed their apps for these very reactions; they want this dependency.   

After watching, it’s hard to stay optimistic about the possibility of change, but its inspiring to see so many former employees being involved in this movement to make technology humane. Hopefully, I’m alive then to see the change.  

The documentary, “The Social Dilemma,” was eye-opening. I knew that our data was being mined on social media, but I had no idea how intrusive these platforms could be. After watching the documentary, I definitely am going to spend less time on social media so that I can prevent myself from being manipulated in subtle ways. It will be difficult to avoid using all the platforms the movie mentioned when everything is online right now, but I am going to try my best to minimize the impact they may have on me. During the pandemic, I have become increasingly reliant on social media in order to stay connected to my friends, but now I know that this comes at a cost.

I found it really interesting that even the creators of some of these apps fall victim to them, despite the fact that they know what’s going on behind the scenes. That shows me the power behind these social media algorithms. Furthermore, some of the creators of the design features said that they had no idea that these platforms could have such a negative impact on people. I’m studying computer science, so maybe, in the future, I could help work to stop this negative impact.

After watching the Netflix documentary “The Social Dilemma”, it became much more clear to me that social media has grown significantly since I was a kid. Students my age grew up with developing technology, while the students today grow up with it improving from an already advanced point. Although technology is super useful for connecting others and today in online learning, its overuse can cause mental, emotional and even physical harm once you become dependent and attached to it. Without interventions from media companies, it will become more and more difficult to detach from it.

In Jeff Orlowski’s movie, The Social Dilemma, I found two very alarming aspects of the movie that connected to my life. First, I definitely identified with the lack of data security detailed in the film. Just the other day, I noticed an advertisement pop up on my phone that was related to things I had previously searched for to an alarming degree. This terrified me and also alerted me to the data harvesting that many of these companies do. I remember reading a study done many years ago that detailed the disparity in online prices of the same items due to data harvesting of the study participants’ computer search history data. While many of us turn a blind eye to this insidious data manipulation, it is evident when using common sense that this is an enormous underground business that threatens the entire world’s privacy every day.

The second thing I noticed that applied to me was the manipulation tactics social media companies use to addict us to it. When I had taken a hiatus from Snapchat a few days ago, I noticed that I kept getting spammed with tons of messages that desperately tried to make me open the app. I was also alarmed by this since I usually never get notifications from them other than when I get snaps or Snapchat messages. I sincerely hope that there is a way we can work to eliminate these secret data violations and invasions of our mental privacy from the market.